Lottery luck: Some stores have it

Publix dominates the list of stores that have sold tickets awarding $600 or more.

May 13, 2012|By Nick Sortal and Dana Williams, Sun Sentinel

Lottery players at Tuzzo's Circle News in Hollywood think today's their day. So do those at a Pembroke Pines Publix and others at Government Discount in Miami.

At least, the numbers are on their side. Those South Florida retailers rank high among venues that have sold tickets awarding $600 or more, according to a Sun Sentinel analysis of Florida Lottery winnings since 1993.

(Visit SunSentinel.com/lotterydata to see where lottery tickets with payouts of $600 or more have been sold since 1993.)

Tuzzo's Circle News, located on East Young Circle, is ranked No. 13 in the state. Tuzzo's owner, Mike Patel, said the store began selling tickets when the lottery debuted in 1988, and regular customers are his base, including a Hollywood man who hit the $5,000 Play 4 jackpot 52 times in 2011.

"It's important to players that the person behind the counter knows what they're doing, and knows all the games," Patel said. "We get them in and out of here as quickly as possible, and they know we won't screw up their tickets."

Among the state's 13,000 or so lottery retailers, the Publix at 8341 Flagler Park Plaza in Miami is No. 1, selling at least 516 tickets with prizes of $600 or more. On average, the grocery store sells a big-money ticket every other week.

"Really? I had no idea," said Marcos Ferrara, who buys Florida Lotto tickets weekly at the store. "I guess that means I'm due."

The Publix supermarket chain, which has 231 stores in South Florida, has doled out the most winning tickets in the state. A Pembroke Pines Publix on Flamingo Road, south of Pines Boulevard, ranks No. 5 in the state, with 443 wins, and a Hallandale Beach Publix is No. 8, with 411 wins.

About 18 percent ($720 million) of the lottery's $4 billion business happens at Publix. Of the state's 10 winningest sites, six are Publix stores. The grocery chain, which is based in Lakeland, doesn't comment about the lottery, but it does have an incentive for selling tickets: Retailers receive 5 percent of ticket sales, 1 percent of tickets they cash, and bonuses for big tickets, including at least $20,000 for Powerball.

The winningest non-Publix in South Florida is Government Discount, a variety store across the street from Magic City Casino. Store co-owner Daniel Diaz said about 75 percent of his patrons are Cuban, and the rest are from South America. Almost all speak Spanish as their first language.

"Some hang out here most of the day," lottery clerk Daisy Araujo said, with Diaz acting as interpreter. "They play a scratch-off, go get a cup of coffee, then come back and play another number they think of."

Some players spend up to $500 a day, Araujo said.

The luckiest player at Government Discount is Jose Valera, who hit the Florida Lotto for $21 million on Jan. 22, 2011.

"But he's not a regular," Diaz said. "He played his quick pick, won his money and he was gone."

The Sun Sentinel also calculated the most lucrative venues, but those numbers often are skewed by a single Powerball or Florida Lotto win. Food Mart on Sandlake Road in Orlando is No. 1 with $101.4 million (fueled by a $101.1 million Powerball win in 2009), followed by a Publix on Fortune Road in Kissimmee at $92 million (Powerball hit there in 2011).

The most lucrative South Florida venue is the Publix at 11977 Southern Blvd., in Royal Palm Beach. Players have won $39.8 million there, sixth best in the state, though $38.9 million of that amount derives from a Powerball win in 2010.